Bronx Man, Jose Santiago-Ortiz Sentenced to Life for 2010 murder of Jerry Tide
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JOSE SANTIAGO-ORTIZ was sentenced today to three consecutive life sentences for murder, participating in a narcotics conspiracy, and firearms offenses. SANTIAGO-ORTIZ was convicted on May 15, 2018, following a one-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who also imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Over eight years ago, in service of a violent drug crew, Jose Santiago-Ortiz brutally and senselessly murdered Jerry Tide. Now, thanks to the extraordinary work of the FBI, Santiago-Ortiz stands convicted of that murder and other crimes, and will spend the rest of his life in prison.”
Photo/Jan Marcus
According to the Complaint, the Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, evidence at trial, and statements made in court proceedings:
On September 11, 2010, SANTIAGO-ORTIZ shot and killed Jerry Tide in the vicinity of Jerome Avenue and 182nd Street in the Bronx. Between 2010 and November 2015, SANTIAGO-ORTIZ was the leader of a violent heroin trafficking enterprise (the “Flow Heroin Enterprise”) that trafficked kilogram quantities of heroin, stamped “Flow,” in the Bronx and to Rutland, Vermont. SANTIAGO-ORTIZ killed Jerry Tide in part to increase his position within the Flow Heroin Enterprise. Following his arrest on state charges in March 2014, SANTIAGO-ORTIZ continued to direct narcotics trafficking and acts of violence from prison. In addition, in 2015, members of the Flow Heroin Enterprise engaged in several shootings with rival drug dealers in the Bronx.
